'Friends with benefits' not legally de facto couples

The judge rejected a property claim from the younger man of the pair, who claimed the older man whose home he shared was his de facto partner, Stuff.co.nz reported.

Lawyer Nicholas Stewart, who acted for the older man, said that his client shared household duties with the younger man and occasionally had sex, but did not have an exclusive relationship.

Stewart added that the applicant claimed that the two men had been in a de facto relationship of shared life and commitment and the younger man wanted hundreds of thousands of dollars from the older man's retirement portfolio.

Federal Circuit Court Judge John Coker, who ruled in Brisbane on November 6, said that he was not overly convinced by the younger man's claim to a relationship because, among other things, he did not know the passwords to the other man's phone, household computer or bank accounts or provide evidence of contributing to household expenses.

Stewart added that they were aware of the concept of friends with benefits, but the principle had never been tested in Commonwealth family law and it really shows the liberated nature of gay relationships and also that society is changing as there are gay and straight people living together who don't have a commitment.